Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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UNI Online is a compilation of notices to be distributed to faculty and staff. The deadline for submission is noon, the day before publication. UNI Online is distributed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Submitted items must be sponsored by a UNI department, program or organization. No commercial or personal announcements are allowed. Announcements must have news, not opinion content. News items may be submitted via the UNI Online Submission Form.

The Board of Regents and UNI travel reimbursement policy changed May 1 and now follows Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rate for business use. The rate for use of a personally owned vehicle remains at 51 cents when a motor pool vehicle is not available, when travel is less than 100 miles round trip or when use of a motor pool vehicle is not feasible. The university reimbursement rate for driving a personal car when a motor pool vehicle is available has been changed to 50 percent of the IRS rate for business use, which is currently $.255. An exception has been created for travel to the Cedar Rapids and Des Moines airports where the higher IRS rate will apply. The exception of a trip less than four hours is no longer available. Employees who have been reimbursed for mileage claims on or after May 1 using the 19-cent rate, may submit claims for the difference; reimbursements that have not been paid will have the rate adjusted to 25.5 cents. Travel Guidelines are at http://www.vpaf.uni.edu/obo/accounts_payable/tguide.shtml. Questions on these changes should be directed to lisa.steimel@uni.edu or 273-5472.

UNIVERSITY-PREFERRED TRAVEL PROVIDERS

The Office of Business Operations recently contracted with Short's Travel Management, Inc. and Humble Travel Service Ltd. to provide travel services to UNI faculty, staff and students for both official UNI business and, as requested, leisure travel. These suppliers were chosen through a competitive bid process. Discounts will be applied to business travel. Benefits of working with the preferred travel agencies include expertise on itinerary searches, maintenance of credits/refunds and 24-hour customer service for travel emergencies. For contact information, visit http://www.vpaf.uni.edu/obo/purchasing/contracts.shtml.

Faculty and staff volunteers are needed to assist members of the UNI Parents Association in staffing the parent resource area during the student organization fairs during new student orientation in June and July. The resource area provides an opportunity to interact with parents of new students and members of the UNI Parents Association Advisory Committee. The fairs take place from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays from June 6 through July 10. If interested in volunteering, contact Margaret Corson at margaret.corson@uni.edu.

AUCTION ITEMS ON PUBLIC SURPLUS

UNI currently has several items for auction on Public Surplus. These auctions will end on Tuesday, May 31, and Wednesday, June 1. Included in these sales are a Snap-On wheel balancer, an Oster pipe threading machine and two hydraulic control valves. For more information, visit www.publicsurplus.com or call Vince at 273-3527.

It is with mixed feelings that I announce the retirement of Tom Schellhardt, vice president for administration and financial services for the past nine years, effective Aug. 31. To read the full message, visit http://www.uni.edu/president/

HOST AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT FOR A DAY

The Culture & Intensive English Program is seeking families and members of the Cedar Falls community to volunteer to host a student from Brazil on Sunday, July 10. Email sally.roos@uni.edu for more details.

NEW STUDENT ORGANIZATION BUILDS CUSTOMIZED WEBSITES

The Digital Collective is an interdisciplinary organization established at UNI to help students (programmers, designers, writers and visual communicators) advance their already considerable multimedia and interactive digital-media skills. One of the group's functions is to build websites for clients (at minimal cost). Digital Collective members can develop sites in Dreamweaver, Flash or Drupal. The fee is $250 for one page; $325 for three pages; and $25 for specialty items. Members will be available over the summer and will respond to queries immediately. Contact the Digital Collective at http://www.uni.edu/studentorgs/digitalcollective/.

NEW FINANCIAL AID SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY

A new Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP) became effective with the summer 2011 term. SAP will be evaluated annually (following each spring semester), and students need to meet all stated requirements at the time of review to avoid suspension. Students placed on financial aid suspension must appeal to have their financial aid reinstated. Click here to view the entire policy. Training times will be scheduled for staff interested in learning more about how this policy may impact their work with students. Contact Tim Bakula at 273-2722 with any questions.

CIEP NEWSLETTER, 'THE INTERNATIONAL PANTHER'

“The International Panther” is the official newsletter of UNI's Culture and Intensive English Program. The newsletter highlights the achievements of faculty, staff, current students, conversation partners and alumni of the program. The spring 2011 edition is available at http://www.uni.edu/ciep/documents/Spring_2011.pdf.

DOR CONFERENCE GUESTS

The Department of Residence welcomes the following conference guests this week: Fatih University summer program, IEEE-PELS Solar Splash, UNI Men's Basketball Camp and Mid-America Institute of Professional Photographers.

DRIVER'S LICENSE CHECKS

UNI's new Motor Vehicle policy, www.uni.edu/policies/963, has been approved by the Cabinet. It requires verification of a driver's license and driving record before a driver is allowed to use a university vehicle or obtain reimbursement for use of a personnal vehicle on university business. License verification will happen twice per year beginning this August. For more information, contact Dennis at 273-7653.

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY RELOCATION

The Department of History has temporarily moved from Seerley Hall to 172 BAK. It will be housed in Baker until Monday, Aug. 1.

EMPLOYEE RESOURCES

FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR COMPETITION: MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMS

Countries in this region that continue to receive American scholars include Egypt, the West Bank, Tunisia and Lebanon. Contact Gary Garrison for more information at ggarrison@iie.org or Nadia Korobova nadia.korobova@uni.edu.

ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT AWARDS: SPRING 2012

The Office of Continuing and Distance Education is accepting proposals for course development awards for faculty interested in converting an existing course to a fully online format using UNI's eLearning system. Proposals for spring 2012 courses are due Friday, June 17. Guidelines and a proposal form are available at http://www.uni.edu/continuinged/faculty/courseproposals. Awards include a $1,000-per-credit-hour course-development stipend and a $1,000 professional-development stipend for attending Quality Matters workshops on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 1 and 2. For details, contact Belle Cowden at 273-7211 or belle.cowden@uni.edu.

SPECIAL EVENTS

CULTURE CLUES: ADVENTURES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Discover the processes of archaeology during this adventure at the University Museum, Monday through Friday, June 13 through 17, from 9 a.m. to noon. Learn the definition of "culture," excavate a fictitious civilization, catalog their tools and artifacts, and imagine what their society might have been like. Share facts and findings at a special symposium. The camp is appropriate for children entering grades three through six in the fall. Registration includes supplies and a snack. The cost is $50 for Friends members, $60 for nonmembers. Registration and payment are due by Friday, June 3. Download a registration form at www.uni.edu/camps/.

RETIREMENT OPEN HOUSE FOR DIANE DAVISON

A retirement open house for Diane Davison will be held from 2 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, June 15, in the Facilities Services conference room, Art II building. Diane will retire from UNI effective June 30 after 26 years of service. While at UNI, she has worked in HR and Facilities Services/Physical Plant. Come wish her well.

COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL TO OFFER CAMP MUSICMANIA

The UNI Community Music School will offer Camp Musicmania Monday through Saturday, June 13 through 18. The camp is open to students entering grades four through nine in the fall. Camp activities include singing, dancing, drama, playing small percussion instruments and using music to tell a story. Deadline for registration is Wednesday, June 1. Cost is $75 per camper, with limited scholarships available. For more information, visit http://www.uni.edu/music/communitymusicschool/specialevents.html or contact Cindi Mason at 273-2142 or Cynthia.Mason@uni.edu.

EXHIBITIONS AND FILMS

BENEATH OUR FEET: CEDAR VALLEY ARCHAEOLOGY

Hundreds of years ago, prehistoric people left traces of their lives scattered across the plains of Iowa. This University Museum exhibit (June 6 through Aug. 20) features research and artifacts from our own backyard. View pieces of pottery and projectile points found by the UNI Archaeology Field School excavations at Hartman Reserve Nature Center. Learn how professional archaeologists excavate sites, what they look for in the lab and how they interpret artifacts. An opening reception will take place at 7 p.m, Tuesday, June 7.